By Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, July 27 (CNS Canada) – ICE Futures Canada canola contracts were up on Thursday, as concerns over hot and dry growing weather provided support.
Large portions of Alberta and Saskatchewan were placed under heat warnings by Environment Canada, and the hot temperatures had traders adding to the weather premiums in the futures.
The latest from Saskatchewan out this morning placed only 52 per cent of the province’s canola crop in the good-to-excellent category, which was down five points over the past two weeks.
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Gains in Chicago Board of Trade soybeans were also supportive. However, a lack of significant commercial demand and the relative strength in the Canadian dollar tempered the advances.
About 9,866 canola contracts traded on Thursday, which compares with Wednesday when 20,246 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 1,206 of the contracts traded.
Milling wheat, durum, and barley were all untraded.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were up by five to seven cents per bushel on Thursday.
Solid export demand accounted for some of today’s strength in beans, with weekly export sales of 800,000 tonnes (old and new crop combined) coming in at the high end of trade guesses.
The USDA also reported a separate sale of 284,000 tonnes to unknown destinations this morning.
Updated forecasts are now showing below average rainfall across a large portion of the US growing areas over the next two weeks, which added to the strength in beans as the crop enters its key pod filling stage.
SOYOIL futures were stronger on Thursday, following soybeans.
SOYMEAL futures settled higher on Thursday.
CORN futures in Chicago were up by one to two cents per bushel on Thursday.
While some regions of the Midwest saw heavy rains overnight, many of the drier areas missed out on the precipitation.
The forecasts are looking cooler and drier over the next week to ten days, which also provided support.
A five million tonne reduction in the International Grains Council’s world corn production estimate, now at 1.02 billion tonnes, contributed to the firmer tone in the US futures.
Weekly US corn export sales of just over 500,000 tonnes were in line with trade estimates.
WHEAT futures in Chicago were up by one to two cents per bushel, while Minneapolis spring wheat was up by as much as seven cents.
A crop tour of the US spring wheat belt going on this week is so far showing average yields well below the year-ago level. Abandonment in parts of North Dakota was pegged at 20 per cent, due to the drought in the region.
Weekly US wheat export sales came in at about 500,000 tonnes.
